


In Denial

by unbreakable13



Category: Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Pride and Prejudice & Related Fandoms, Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, No video diary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:00:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 10,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23066623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unbreakable13/pseuds/unbreakable13
Summary: LBD AU. Starts during the Netherfield arc. What if Bing hadn't listened to Darcy when he told him to break up with Jane? What if the Bennets never had the misfortune of meeting George Wickham? Would things be easier for Lizzie and Darcy then?
Relationships: Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy, Lizzie Bennet/William Darcy
Comments: 45
Kudos: 241





	1. Chapter 1

She found the man frustrating. Beyond frustrating. Why did he have to sound so sure of himself in every word he uttered? Why did he believe his own self with so much conviction? Maybe his confidence was something to be admired, but Elizabeth Bennet was in no mood to admire William Darcy for anything.

She tried to push him out of his mind, to block out the image of him typing furiously on his laptop at the other end of the giant living room at Netherfield. She needed to focus on the book she was reading. But his words kept echoing back in his head. Another one of those inane arguments they had gotten into, yet again. On the surface, everything was always perfectly polite, of course. But still, she often felt like she lost more often then she won. _But this is not a competition_ , she reprimanded herself, yet again. _Stop thinking about him, he's not worth it!_ But of their own accord, her eyes rose to look up at him, yet again.

He was staring right at her. She snapped her eyes back to her book as quickly as possible, but she still noticed him doing the same. _And why the hell does this keep happening! What are the chances that this keeps happening between the two of them again and again!_

She tried to get back to the book, yet again. She had only just found her place when she heard him get up and start walking, and she realized with an almost panic that he was walking towards her and not the door. _Should I look up and acknowledge that I know he's coming this way? Would being polite be better or should I be too engrossed in reading to notice him?_

"Excuse me, Elizabeth?"

 _Damn! Took too long to decide._ She looked up, expression absolutely calm. He was standing a few feet away, one hand in his trouser pocket. Confident, as always.

"Yes?"

"I just received a text from Bing. He and Jane are eating out and they're asking us to join them. I think Jane is trying to reach you."

Lizzie looked around herself, looking for her phone. There was something to be said about his voice and the light accent he carried from his years in London, but she wasn't going to be the one saying it. "I think I left my phone up in the room," she said eventually.

There was a pause. He was still just standing there. She tried not to stare at him. _Do NOT think about how good he is looking in the evening light!_ She stood up hurriedly, "I will go get it. How about you and Caroline go ahead? I will join you in a while."

"Caroline isn't home."

"Oh... She isn't?" This gave her a pause. It was hard to keep track of who was going in and out of the house when the house in question sometimes felt as large as a football field. But why had he been sitting in the living room with her then? She had assumed he had been waiting for Caroline to join him, as she usually does.

"Yes. I don't mind waiting for you. Why drive two cars when we could pool right? That would be more fuel-efficient." He gave a crooked smile.

He was getting back at her. Their argument earlier had been about fuel inefficiency of expensive cars. And was that smile really necessary? Just to rub it in her face. _Do NOT tell him he looks better when he smiles, even though he does. And a smile would not help as much a personality transplant anyway._

"Um... yes. That's right. Give me a few minutes then, I'll just go get changed." 

"No problem. I will wait here."

Only as she started walking out of the room, she realized how unnaturally far apart they had been standing the entire length of that conversation. _Is getting too close to other mortal beings against your programming, Darcy-bot?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The scene continues from Darcy's POV

He was trying to concentrate on the email on his laptop screen. But in reality he had no idea what that email was about. In his head the same battle was on going, yet again. _Don't be juvenile! She is just another woman... You're not even going to see her ever again after a few weeks!_

But just as William Darcy was trying to convince himself of the inconsequentiality of Elizabeth Bennet, he couldn't help but jump to his feet as soon as he heard her enter the room.

"Hey... Hope I didn't take too long," she said standing by the door.

She looked... _beyond words_. He realized he was staring. He made himself stop. "No, I had some work to do, so it's fine," he spoke smoothly. Over the years he has perfected the art of sounding calm even if he was feeling anything but on the inside. It was a useful skill, but he hadn't anticipated needing it so frequently outside of his office. What Caroline had been calling his "schoolboy crush" really had been affecting his life more and more lately and he would never accept the extent of his infatuation to even himself. 

He realized that he had been staring, yet again. _Get a grip on yourself!_ He looked down, picked up his jacket from the nearby chair and turned towards her, "Shall we?" 

But she had left the room already. He had been planning on offering her his arm, walking her to the car, opening the door for her... _Stop! You are not taking her out on a date!_

He hurriedly followed her out and he really did try to not ogle as she walked in front of him. Her green dress was beautiful, or maybe it was her that made it beautiful. Maybe it was better that she hadn't waited for him. Walking behind her allowed him a few moments to just look at her without the fear of being caught. 

She stepped into the car as soon as he pressed the unlock button once they were in the garage. Even as he carefully maneuvered the car out of the driveway onto the road, they didn't say a word to each other. She was looking out of her window, in one of her quiet moods it seemed. She often flitted in and out of these moods, he had noticed. He didn't want to disturb her, but he also did want to waste the little time he had with her alone. _I won't ever see her again after a few weeks..._ The thought was sadder than it should have been.

"You look... really nice," he spoke out.

"What?" 

She turned around to look at him. He forced himself to keep look straight ahead. Meeting her eyes would not be the best decision for him right now.

"You look really nice," he forced himself to repeat. _Can't chicken out now._

"Um... Thanks." She sounded surprised or amused, the thanks sounding almost like a question. 

Had that been the wrong thing to say? Was it not something a guy could say just casually? Or was it just him who could not say anything right? Could she be laughing at him? _Why am I doing this to myself! Just shut up and drive, you moron!_

He set his jaw, and continued staring straight ahead onto the road. If he noticed her looking over at him a few times, he chose to ignore it. He didn't speak another word to her all evening and drove back alone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few months have passed and Darcy continues to struggle with his feelings for Elizabeth Bennet

**A few months later**

He was on the phone with his Aunt Catherine, and though giving his full attention to everything she said was always hard for him, the words she had said a few moments ago had made his brain go completely blank. Did she just say...? "Sorry, Aunt Catherine... But who did you say was coming?"

"Ah William... I just told you. That Collins, he is bringing along the woman, an Elizabeth Bennet to dinner. The one he offered the partnership to. What a pity, she turned it down. These young ones these days, acting so entitled. I'm sure she regrets it now, looking at her friend Ms. Lu..."  
  
William was grateful for the first time that Catherine never needed any prompting to keep a conversation going. He had heard of Collins and Collins before, of course. Catherine liked to keep him posted about all her business deals. He had heard of the hiring of a Ms. Lu. But he could never have imagined that it was the same Charlotte Lu. It had to be the same Charlotte Lu. There couldn't be two pairs of Charlotte Lu's and Elizabeth Bennet's who were friends and worked in the field of mass communications within California, right?  
  
He tried to pay attention to what Catherine was saying now. She had mentioned her desire to have him visit the Collins offices and check if everything was "as it should be" before as well. He had so far managed to find polite reasons to avoid the visit. The last thing he had wished for was to spend a few days in her company, listening to her express all her opinions in great detail and gossiping about everyone she knew. But now as she brought it up once more, he thought about Elizabeth Bennet. There was no denying it anymore... hardly a day went by when he didn't think of her. It had been months since he had seen her, but she had made a permanent home in his mind.  
  
He made another vague excuse about the Collins visit and got off the phone hurriedly. This conversation shouldn't have affected him this much, he told himself. So what if Lizzie was visiting his Aunt? Why did it matter? Why did his heart suddenly need to beat harder? Why was he feeling like anxiety was engulfing him?  
  
Yes, he thought about her often. He had imagined that once he stopped seeing her regularly, she would fade from his mind. But even as the weeks and then months passed, that never happened. She didn't fade, even a bit. Instead, he kept thinking back to all the tiniest things about her. The way she sat with her legs crossed as she read. He would imagine her sitting like that on his sofa as he sat alone in his apartment after a long day at work. He'd be making coffee in his kitchen and the image of her with disheveled hair standing next to the kitchen counter with her morning coffee would come to his mind. He'd be reading an article and he would imagine what her opinion on it would be. He'd be in his office engrossed in his work, and out of nowhere a thought would come, I wonder what she is doing right now? He'd go to bed and thoughts of her would come to him unbidden. Sometimes he would fight against them, but sometimes he didn't have the strength to. And giving in felt so good.  
  
He had never been much of a dater, but once in a while, Fitz or Gigi set him up on a date. In the beginning, after returning to San Francisco, he had been desperate enough to ask Fitz to set him up with someone. It had been a mistake. All through the night, he had hardly been able to pay his date any real attention. Instead, he had kept imagining having Lizzie with him instead. He had felt like a prick for doing it. He had abruptly ended the date right after dinner. He had apologized both to her and to Fitz later, but the fact remained that he wasn't ready to date anyone. Anyone else.  
  
If he could date Lizzie, would he? But he couldn't. Or more like shouldn't. Dating Elizabeth Bennet made no sense! He just had to wait this thing out, he had told himself. Even if at times his resolve weakened, he had resisted acting on these feelings.  
  
He had never even googled her or tried to find her socials. He had mostly convinced himself that he was stronger than this. But suddenly the façade he had built for himself was shattering. If he got in the car right now and drove straight to Catherine's place, he could see her in two hours. Two hours! The thought was so tempting that it was scary.  
  
He couldn't take it. He grabbed his phone and called Fitz, "I need a drink."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner at deBourgs takes Lizzie by surprise.

Lizzie couldn't process this. She had started this evening dreading the dinner at the deBourg estate. Last week she had the "honor" (according to Ricky Collins) of spending the evening in the company of The Great Catherine deBourg. And the less said about that experience, the better. She had agreed to do it over again today only for the sake of Charlotte. If Catherine deBourg included you in a dinner invitation, you couldn't just ignore it even if she knew it was going to be a miserable way to spend her evening. But here she was, by some strange turn of events, having dinner with William Darcy. _Ok there were other people present, but still!_

She had not reacted well when he had suddenly appeared behind his Aunt as she was entering the sitting room. He had greeted her and Charlotte very politely, and she had responded with a bit too loud "Why are you here"? He had seemed a bit taken aback and it had given The Great Catherine deBourg one more reason to disapprove of her. He had of course regained his composure immediately and had explained he was visiting his Aunt for a few days.

Why would a 28 year old, busy CEO casually visit his Aunt for a few days when it wasn't Christmas or Thanksgiving, she couldn't understand. But the reason had soon been revealed. He was here to review how things were going at Collins and Collins. She had sensed Charlotte getting worried at the announcement. Keeping Catherine happy had been difficult enough, but now on top of that, she had to deal with this hard to please man. For the hundredth time, she had realized how much more well suited Charlotte was to this job than her.

The evening would have proceeded much like the last one, if Darcy hadn't decided to sit opposite her at the dinner table. She wanted to follow all the conversations happening at the table, but his presence was somewhat distracting. She tried to not look at him for too long but it was not easy to avoid looking at him when he was right there! In front of her! Was it because she hadn't seen him in a while, that she just wanted to sit and admire _this piece of man cake? Lydia did get something right_ , she thought rolling her eyes at herself. 

Lizzie hadn't heard much about him since he and Caroline had left Netherfield so suddenly. Jane and Bing had moved to LA soon after, and what little she had gathered from Jane hinted that Bing and Darcy had had a falling out. Lizzie had been really curious of course, but Jane had just gone into the elder sister mode with "Lizzie. Dont pry."

He had made enquiries about her and Charlotte's families and after the initial conversation had ended, she had expected that they wouldn't have much to say to each other. But surprisingly Darcy had kept up a nearly steady string of questions. For once, Lizzie decided to heed Jane's advice and not pry. She did not mention anything about his sudden departure from town and neither did he. Catherine tried to jump into their conversation a few times. Today, the thinly veiled insults at her had come in the form of comparisons with Darcy's sister, Gigi. But Darcy somehow managed to deflect Catherine every time she tried to target Lizzie. She wasn't sure if he realized what he was doing, but she was grateful nonetheless. 

Dinner passed quickly and Catherine ordered all of them to the sitting room. Lizzie found herself hoping that Darcy would sit next to her, but Catherine had busied him in a conversation and both of them ended up on the other side of the room. Lizzie tried to not look wistful and for something to do, asked Ricky something about the estate. Ricky was only too excited to launch into the illustrious history of the deBourgs. She wasn't really listening, but soon Catherine joined Ricky, how could she not. Which meant Darcy was finally free from Catherine. Lizzie looked over at him and their eyes met. She quickly turned her eyes back towards Catherine. _This was happening again!_ She risked peeking at him once more and he was still staring at her. She thought she saw him almost smile before he too, turned back to listen to Catherine. Or pretending to... just like her.

She was surprised when everyone around her started getting up to leave. She hadn't realised it was so late already. Darcy came out to the driveway to say goodbye. He shook hands with Ricky and Charlotte, scheduling a visit to the Collins' offices the next day. When he turned to her, he asked her as if it was the most natural thing to ask, "Will I see you tomorrow then?"

She replied "Yes", without even thinking about it. He nodded, and maybe she imagined it, but it felt like he shook her hand for a little too long... his hand lingered in hers. She didn't fully understand what was happening. This was William Darcy. Rude, arrogant, full of himself. And she hated him, didn't she?

Charlotte stayed quiet as they drove back with Ricky but as soon as he dropped them outside her building, she pounced on her. Lizzie tried her best to act like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. She wasn't ready yet. To talk about it. Whatever _it_ was. But she went to bed strangely excited for tomorrow to begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Variation from the real story... Bing was smarter and refused to break up with Jane.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Later the same night, Darcy's POV.

He needed to call Bing. To apologize. He had clearly been wrong in making the harsh judgements that he had. In reality, he had been struggling to come to grips with his own feelings for Lizzie. Watching his friend fall in love with another Bennet so easily, when he found nothing easy about the whole thing had not made him feel any better. All the idiotic objections he had come up with for not wanting to date Lizzie could be applied to Bing and Jane as well. At that time he had been selfish enough to believe what he was doing was for his friend's benefit. But in hindsight, it was easy to see what his motives had actually been. He had been angry when Bing stood up to him and pretty much kicked him out of Netherfield. But even then the anger had been directed more at himself than his friend. Now the anger had turned to shame. 

It was late, but he still called Bing. The conversation wasn't easy, but Bing is... well, Bing. He couldn't not forgive you if you asked for forgiveness. He sounded happy. He was living with Jane now. Darcy knew he needed to be honest. Bing deserved a friend who was honest. So he told him. Told him what his true motivations might have been. Bing didn't sound surprised. "You can be such an ass, Darcy" was all he said. He told him to come over to their place when he came to LA next. Darcy promised that he would.

He afterwards wondered if Bing had told Jane everything he had said that day...? Would she have told her sister? Shame. Again. But knowing Bing, he probably wouldn't have mentioned anything to Jane.

He thought back to the dinner. Lizzie. 

Meeting her in the flesh had been surreal. He had come here with uncertainty. All last week he had spent wondering if he was being a fool. Abandoning all of his work to run to a different city just for the chance to see a woman. Had she really been everything he remembered? Or had he just built her up to be so much more in his own head? He didn't really know her that well, did he?

But then he had seen her. His wariness had disappeared immediately. She was... she was... words failed him. And all those memories of her he had gathered over the weeks of their acquiantance and the few days days living in the same house as her had done her no justice. _And if a woman can handle Catherine's snide remarks with such ease, what more can I ask for, really._

So he decided halfway through dinner. He was going to do this. 

When he had had the chance to talk to her before, to get to know her, to let her get to know him, he had more often than not, shunned those opportunities. Instead relying on other's conversations with her in his presence to get to know her. To piece her together bit by bit... But now he was going to be direct. Talking to her had never been easy, but he was going to try regardless. 

And then today turned out to be different. She had seemed... interested? Not in that way... But interested in talking to him, interested in what he had to say. He was sure she had never before smiled as much while talking to him. Of course, Catherine had been unbearable. But even she hadn't been able to ruin his evening.

And he was going to see Lizzie again tomorrow! He imagined meeting her tomorrow, talking to her just like today, but even better, without the others. Just her and him. Was it too early to ask her out? Even for a coffee? It probably was. Would she even say yes? Probably not. 

But Dracy could be patient. He wasn't going to screw this up.


	6. Chapter 6

There was a knock at the door at the office she had been given at Collins and Collins. She turned around to see Darcy at the door, expression serious but not unfriendly. Over the last week she had seen it often. He had been sitting in on all meetings and visiting all departments in the Collins' offices. Their paths crossed repeatedly, as she had to attend many of the same meetings as part of her shadowing project. She smiled at him, "Hi! Come on in..."

He gave her the smallest of smiles in return and walked in. In the past she would have immediately judged his lack of a spoken greeting and the barest hint of a smile as the height of arrogance. But now that she had decided to look past her previous prejudices, she could see that he wasn't trying to be rude, not always. This was just the Darcy normal. It wasn't off-putting once you got used to it. And she had gotten used to having him around lately.

Charlotte and she had a routine of visiting a cafe down the road for their evening coffee. On his first day here, he had randomly walked into the same cafe and Charlotte had invited him to join them. And then she had promptly made up a fake emergency at the office and left the two of them sitting with each other. You really can't expect Charlotte to be subtle. It had been awkward. At the dinner the previous night, they had somehow found a rythm... talking hadn't been this hard. The wine had probably helped. He had been the one to initiate the conversation at the dinner, but that seemed unlikely today. He was just sitting there, frozen, staring into his coffee. _So I guess it's my turn today._ "Your sister also lives in San Francisco, right?"

He visibly relaxed, "Yes, she does." Talking about his sister was clearly easy for him. A comfortable topic. He was very fond of Gigi, it was easy to see. She hadn't ever heard him talking so warmly about anyone. And from there things had gradually become easier. Less awkwardness. Fewer constrained silences. Somehow everyday he stumbled into the cafe a few moments after her and Charlotte just as Charlotte made up a reason to leave. She wasn't dumb enough to believe it was a coincidence. But the alternative? 

She pushed all of these thoughts out of her mind and turned back to Darcy. He had stopped in the middle of the room, standing tall in all his 6 feet 2 inches glory, hands in his pockets. Confident, but not always. If you looked closely, you could see that his hands were balled into fists. _So not so confident today then_ , she thought. _He needs to be put out of his misery_.

She spoke brightly, "So are you done for the day? Charlotte and I were just gonna head to the cafe soon."

"Yeah. I just compiled the final review and sent it to the deBourg office. Your friend has been doing very well here."

"Oh... " This gave Lizzie a pause. "So your work here is done then?" 

She hadn't been expecting that. She should have... it was obvious he wouldn't stay long, he had already stayed longer than what would have been expected of him maybe. She wasn't ready for this to end yet though. Whatever had just started happening. Between them. 

"Yeah...yes. I will be... leaving soon. I wanted... I mean..." He was struggling to find the words. Lizzie wasn't dumb enough to not understand the look in his eyes. He wasn't ready for this to end yet too.

She stood up. "You wanted...?" 

He gulped. "I... yes. Just wanted to ask..."

Lizzie was walking towards him. It was a heady feeling. Was it really her who was unnerving William Darcy like this? Whatever happened to his list? His perfect woman? She certainly wasn't it. _To hell with all that!_ If he was leaving today, she didn't want to leave this at an unfinished note.

She walked right up to him and pulled him into a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoping to post the next update soon!


	7. Chapter 7

She was kissing William Darcy. She was sitting on her desk, he pushed her on to it... Her hands were in his hair... Her legs were wrapped around his body... Their lips were melded together. One of his hands was on the small of her back, pulling her body closer to him... His other hand was on the side of her thigh, holding her to him. She was kissing William Darcy!

And it was exhilarating... She couldn't keep up with what their bodies were doing. She didn't know how the simple kiss she had initiated had turned into this. His lips moved to her neck, nipping at her soft skin... _Oh god! He's so good!_ As his tongue caressed the sensitive spot below her ear, she let out a moan. He immediately froze. 

_Shit!_ They were in the office. The Collins' office. The door was open. Her dress had ridden up her legs almost all the way. She was wrapped around him like she was holding onto him for dear life. Suddenly she was horrified. What if Charlotte had walked in? Or worse, Ricky! This wasn't her. She didn't jump guys on office desks. But the guy in question didn't seem like he did this on the regular either. 

They both were still frozen in place, their bodies intertwined. He slowly removed his hands from her body and placed them on the desk on either side of her. So she unwrapped her legs and brought her hands back to her lap, she didn't particularly want to do it but it would be highly odd to keep holding on to him when he had already let go of her. She was hesitant to meet his eyes. She didn't know what this meant... For them. Would it be awkward now? Or could they possibly find somewhere more private to continue?

The thought was thrilling. But when she finally looked at him, his eyes were closed. He was still leaning in over her with his tall frame. His body was tense, his face unreadable.

"I..." he started, but his voice was hoarse. He cleared his throat and spoke in a rush. "I have to tell you... I haven't been able to stop thinking about you for months."

 _Wait! Months...?_ But she thought... only these past few days...

He opened his eyes and she hadn't been prepared for the emotion she saw there. "I only came here because of you. I had to see you."

She looked away, she couldn't look into those eyes. She didn't know what to say. If kissing him like that had been unexpected, she didn't know what hearing him say these words was. She thought back to all the times they had met before... Months before. The Gibson wedding, Netherfield, her house, Carter's... She never would have thought... Suddenly she remembered, Charlotte teasing her after that's one night at Carter's... Jane saying that he wanted to dance with her, at Netherfield... Had she really been that blind?

She looked back at him. He was still looking at her with those same eyes. _Oh god..._

She opened her mouth, she needed to say something, he was probably waiting. But before she could decide what to say he spoke again. "I also told Bing to break up with Jane."

This completely derailed her train of thought. "What? When? Why would you do that?"

He let out a sigh. He closed his eyes again. "It was in Netherfield. I thought she wasn't as into him as he was."

"But... why? Who are you to decide that? You don't even know Jane!" She realized she sounded angry. She tried to calm down but this was him. This was the man she had despised. The one who thought he knew everything, who was somehow superior to everyone and everything, who could pass judgements on every other person in the room as if he had been given the right to.

He was still speaking with his eyes closed. "Bing is my friend and he is very trusting. Too trusting. I didn't want... I didn't want him to be taken advantage of."

Ok, she didn't care about not sounding angry anymore. She tried to get off the desk and he immediately moved to give her the space she needed. "Are you suggesting that my sister is taking advantage of your friend?"

"No.. no. I am not. I don't think like that anymore. Back then... I was just. I wanted to protect my friend, and looking at your family... I mean, forgive me. Not you or your sister..."

She couldn't listen to this anymore. She walked out of the room. Her eyes were stinging. She was seething. Who does he think he is? She went and locked herself in the restroom. She needed time to think. And she didn't want to see him anymore.

She leaned back against the door and thought back to the kiss. The memory had already turned sour.


	8. Chapter 8

**Two weeks later**

William Darcy was sitting at his desk at Pemberley Digital staring at the resumé lying at his desk. Elizabeth Bennet. Graduate Student. Next to it was lying a letter. Explaining her thesis project, shadowing multimedia companies, importance of bridging the gap between academia and industry... He had read all the documents in her file so many times in the last two days that he could probably recite them by now. The tiny image of her face staring at him from the corner of her resumé was unbearable. He closed the file and grabbed his phone.

"I still can't believe you did this." He sent the text.

The reply from Fitz was almost immediate. "And I still can't believe that you're obsessing over it this much."

Before Darcy could think of an appropriate response, another text from Fitz popped up. 

"Look, I approved her visit to Pemberly a whole month ago. I didn't tell you exactly because I knew you would react like this. It's done now. She has arrived today and unless she decides to cancel the whole thing herself (which is highly unlikely given that her Professor set this up), you're gonna have to see her at some point or the other. So just keep your cool."

Darcy didn't have a response to that. He put the phone back down on his desk and buried his face in his hands. 

Two days ago Fitz had insisted that they go out to drink after work. He hadn't been in the mood, he was hardly in the mood to do anything these days, but Fitz had managed to wear him down. After a few drinks, Fitz had broken the news. Elizabeth Bennet, you know the woman who has turned his life upside down, whom two weeks ago he had been kissing passionately on top of a desk, and whom moments later he had offended so badly that she probably would never want to look at his face again... That Elizabeth Bennet was coming to Pemberley. For a whole month. 

_Keep my cool?_ How the hell was he going to do that! The past two weeks had not been good. That day he had walked into her office at Collins and Collins completely unprepared for what was about to happen. He knew he couldn't prolong his visit any longer, so he had convinced himself to go over and just casually ask for her number. No big deal, just a phone number. Because they were friends... Or friendly at least. Friends could.. should have each other's numbers. In his vague idea of the future, he had thought that if she agreed to give him her number, that would mean she didn't mind staying in touch... That they could continue to talk, she could get to know him... And then maybe... Maybe he would have told her. That he was crazy about her. He would never have withheld other parts of the truth. That why it took him so long to approach her. He would never have been dishonest. But he would have had time... time to express himself better, to word it right.

But then she had been kissed him. And everything... just everything came to the surface. It was ridiculous enough that he had been unprofessional enough to put on such a display at a place where he had been visiting in a position of authority. He should care about that more, but in all honesty, he didn't give a damn. What he cared about... All he could think about was her. 

He had hurt her... with his careless words. In the moment, to ease his own mind, he had blurted out everything weighing on his mind. Who was he, really to talk about her family when his own family had spent entire evenings trying to insult everything about her to her face.

His phone rang, pulling him out of his thoughts. It was Gigi.

"Hello, Gigi."

"Hey, William are you in your office?" She sounded like she was excited about something. Her voice became almost child-like when she was excited. It made him smile despite his dark mood.

"Yes, I am."

"Great! Can you come down to the seventh floor quickly. I need you for something. See you!"

With that she hung up. Darcy was a bit taken aback. It wasn't like Gigi to hang up abruptly like that. He stood up with a sigh to go see what his sister was up to.


	9. Chapter 9

_This isn't that bad. This place is... amazing! Really, one month will pass so quickly, it's really not worth freaking out. This place is so huge, you may not even have to see him! And it is a great opportunity to be here..._ Elizabeth Bennet was in her office at Pemberley Digital, convincing herself that coming to William Darcy's home turf so soon after the debacle at Collins and Collins was not the worst decision she had ever made. And well... Now that she was here, she had to make the best of it. Besides, she got her own office! A large spacious room with one wall made completely of glass. The view was not as spectacular as from the other side of the building, but it was already so much more than she had expected... There was even a name plate with her name on it at the door!

Gigi (Georgiana Darcy herself!) had met her in the lobby and given her a small tour of the offices before leaving her alone in her office to "set up her space." Gigi had been surprising... So much more open and energetic than she would have expected. She seemed very unlike her brother. Why she had herself came in to welcome Lizzie, she could not imagine. Or rather she did not want to.

She didn't have much to set up. She just took her laptop out of her bag and plugged in the charger. Her old clunky laptop did not fit with its surroundings, the minimalistic white desk with the large monitor and the clean grey lines of the opposite wall... The large plant in the corner of the room. The whole room... this whole building really was so beautiful... _Had he picked out the designs?_ she wondered... _Approving and rejecting layouts and plans set out before him by some architect with careless ease... Or would he have been too busy running the company to have time for any of that?_

There was a knock out of the door distracting her from her thoughts. Lizzie turned around to see a smiling Gigi peaking her head through the door. "Everything good?"

"Yeah... Come in! I just-" Lizzie had begun asking a question about the cafeteria but her words caught in her throat. Gigi had just pulled in behind her a very stunned looking Darcy. Gigi cheerily announced, "You guys should catch up" and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Darcy was staring after his sister, or more accurately at the closed door. And Lizzie was staring at him. Not seeing him had been a futile hope anyway... He seemed as uncomfortable as she herself was feeling. He was also looking very... attractive? Was the word? Before meeting him, she would not have imagined that she had a thing for men in office wear. Or just one man... She took a deep breath.

She could see him trying to regain his composure as well, as he slowly turned back to her. "I'm sorry, my sister..." He paused, seeming unsure of how to continue. He was looking at her but Lizzie found his face unreadable... He was good at hiding his emotions if he wanted to, she had realized already. She wondered when he had found out that she was coming here...? What his reaction had been...? She didn't think he had known when he was at Collins and Collins, or why would he have come all the way there, as he had put it, _just to see her_? And with that thought came back the unbidden memories of his lips on her skin... His fingers roaming her body... His strong arms carrying her to the desk... _Stop! Don't think about it!_

He had started speaking again, so she tried to focus back on the present. He had dropped the idea of explaining his sister's behavior, it seemed. He continued with "I hope everything is to your satisfaction. I believe you have already been in touch with Richard Fitz. But you can always contact me as well if you need anything during your stay. It is... upto you."

He had spoken smoothly but for a second his polite expression broke at the end there and she had to look away. His words she knew were giving her a choice. A choice that she had been trying to make for the past two weeks. If she chose to act like they were nothing more than casual aquaintances, would he just play along?

"Thank you," she spoke belatedly. "Everything is... perfect here. So, thank you."

"Yeah, my... pleasure." 

_Pleasure???_ _Is he trying to make this harder?_

He cleared his throat, turning to leave, "I'll leave you to it then."

 _Ok! Here goes..._ "Darcy! Wait..."

He stopped, hand still on the door knob.

"I think we should talk."

He let out a long sigh, "Yeah... Alright."

He turned around slowly... "I have to apologize. I know that's not nearly enough. But I have to tell you that I deeply regret my behavior in the past."

She could see that he really meant it, but it didn't mean that she could just forget about what happened. She spoke slowly, "If you percieved any short-comings in me or my family, it should also not have been difficult for you to percieve that I have spent my whole life noticing those short-comings as well. So has Jane. My family may be what it is, but it is still my family and I will stand by them."

He was staring at the floor, not meeting her eyes. He almost looked like a kid being reprimanded. The silence between two extended for a while. He finally ended it by saying "I wholeheartedly respect your sentiments. I will not put you through further explanations on my part. I just hope that your stay here will not be negatively affected due to what happened between us."

"I don't want that to be the case either."

He nodded. "I won't impose on you any longer. You must have work to do."

She had wanted to say more... To convey that she wasn't really mad anymore... She tried to catch his eye but he left without looking at her.

The first meeting that she had been dreading so much was over. It had not been what she had expected, if she had expected anything. She had meant what she said and she did not regret it. Rather she regretted that the whole thing had happened at all...

If she could go back in time, she would have never kissed him and he would not have said all that... And then maybe now, they could be... _What?_ Friends...? More than friends...? Not exactly... But the week of daily unplanned dates at the coffee shop had been... something special. And she wished they could simply go back to that.

She sat down on her chair and began filling out the few forms Gigi had given her... a sense of deep dissatisfaction within her.


	10. Chapter 10

The days passed... And Lizzie grew more engrossed in her work. Pemberly was like a big machine... So many people working together so seamlessly, so efficiently. It was fascinating to observe, and she did feel a little envious of various employees she had interviewed. The passion and love with which they talked about their work and their company made her want to be a part of something bigger than herself too, something that would give purpose to her life in a way. She would graduate soon and she had no clue what the next thing in her life was going to be... But the worries for her future and her career aside, the time so far at Pemberly had been exciting in a new way. Even if temporarily, at least for now she was a part of it. 

She had also made new friends, sort of. Gigi and Fitz primarily. Gigi was always around, she was interning at Pemberly while taking some time off from University. She was like a ball of energy bounding around the office. She reminded Lizzie of Lydia a bit. The Great Catherine deBourg would be scandalized at the comparison of her very beloved niece with Lydia Bennet. But Lizzie imagined the two would actually get along well. And maybe Gigi's influence could make Lydia direct her energy into a more productive direction. Not that the two were ever going to meet or be friends...

Fitz was easy going, witty and quiet hilarious. The emails she had exchanged with him had not prepared her for such a goofy personality. The previous weekend the two had taken Lizzie to a Karaoke bar. It had been a great time, despite her embarrassing performance on the stage.

It had become a routine for Lizzie to have lunch with Gigi. Most days Fitz joined them. And sometimes, Darcy did too. The first few times, it was obvious that Gigi had forced him to come. He sat there mostly in silence, only speaking if a question was directed at him. But one thing that never seemed to change between the two of them was the accidental meeting of their eyes, over the meal table, while walking to the elevator, while listening to Gigi talk... Each time forcing one or the other to look away. 

During her second week at Pemberly, while she, Gigi and Darcy were having lunch, halfway through the meal, Gigi had made up a lame excuse to leave early. _She would get along well with Charlotte too_ , Lizzie thought. As the two of them turned to each other after watching her leave, the awkwardness that seemed to always be lurking around them threatened to engulf them entirely. But Lizzie decided otherwise.

"Your sister is certainly very subtle", she had said while continuing to eat. This had made him laugh out loud. A rare sound... She rather liked it. He had relaxed somewhat after that. They hadn't talked a whole lot but to her it felt like something finally gave in. She had a meeting scheduled with one of the department heads right after lunch, so she had to leave before she really wanted to, but they had been almost friendly in their goodbyes. He had joined in for lunch each day after that. They still never really talked to each other, but their eyes kept meeting accidentally or maybe not so accidentally.

Outside of the lunch hour, Lizzie saw Darcy fairly regularly... They would politely nod to each other if they passed each other in a hallway. There had been one painful elevator ride that the two had shared early on, only exchanging the most uninteresting pleasantries. She had let out a sigh of relief when the doors had finally slid open at her floor.

She had attended countless meetings and presentations that he was leading. These seemed to be where he was the most comfortable. The power and confidence with which he addressed the audience was something but that he could address anyone in any department using their name without a pause was something that really stood out to her. There were hundreds of employees at Pemberly... How many names could he remember? He talked to his employees respectfully, always listening to their ideas or inputs with genuine consideration. And the admiration which everyone seemed to have for their boss was consequently of little surprise.

On Thursday, her third week at Pemberly, she had a one-on-one meeting scheduled with him. There was no way to complete the shadowing project without an interview with the CEO. So there she was nervously entering his office with her camera equipment at 11 am sharp. He opened the door himself, the office behind him was a bit cluttered, files lying around on the desk. Not an ornamental CEO office, the office of a man who actually worked...

She started setting up the camera and he offered to help. A conversation about cameras and angles and shooting in daylight started. It was effortless and Lizzie had begun to feel more relaxed when suddenly looking at him she recognized his shirt... The same one... From that day in the Collins office... When they had...

She had to stop looking at him. She tried to get back to the task at hand. The camera was set. The two sat down. As she began asking the questions from her list, thankfully things eased... He liked talking about Pemberly and his work, a comfortable topic... Like talking about Gigi, she observed. The one hour they had scheduled together, that had seemed like too long when she had agreed to it flew by before she realized it. 

As she was standing at the door ready to leave but not ready to leave, he said hesitantly, "Should we go to the cafeteria together? I'll call Gigi to join us there?"

She smiled, feeling relieved for some reason. "Yes, sure."

He smiled as well, "You can leave your things here then. We can take them to your office afterwards."

She agreed with a nod. _We..._ She wished she heard this _we_ more often.

The two walked out of his office together, the ease of the earlier conversation continuing even in silence. As they stepped into the elevator, he said "So you must be looking forward to the weekend?"

"Um... Not particularly." She was confused... Was this an indirect way of asking if she had plans for the weekend?

He seemed confused as well. "Oh... I thought... Since you and your sister are close... Um... Nevermind."

 _What?_ He was already looking away. "Hey", she spoke a bit forcefully. He looked back at her. "Let's not miscommunicate anymore. What are you talking about?"

"I thought you'd be looking forward to Bing and Jane's visit." His eyes were concerned.

This was news for Lizzie. "Jane's coming? When?" 

"They're coming tomorrow?" It sounded more like a question than a statement. "You didn't know?"

Lizzie laughed out loud, "Jane loves surprises."

If he had looked concerned before, he looked positively apalled now. "Did I... Did I just ruin the surprise?"

His expression made Lizzie want to laugh even more. "It's alright. I'm a great actress." He still looked stricken. Lizzie smiled widely up at him. "But you're right! I am looking forward to the weekend. Thanks for telling me. You made my day."

He finally smiled, "You're welcome."

She laughed again. Suddenly, everything felt lighter. He was smiling at her, she was smiling back. The awkwardness of their last ride through the same elevator seemed to be long forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gigi is taking time off from University because of the George thing, but we don't have the time to explore that in this story.


	11. Chapter 11

Jane was here! On Friday around the time when Lizzie usually left Pemberly, there was a knock on the office door. When Jane walked through the door, Lizzie played the part of a surprised sister well. She still hadn't fully grown used to not having her sisters around all the time, so she was genuinely happy to see her. She had hugged Bing who was as charming as ever warmly too. What had been the real surprise was Caroline standing behind Bing with her very bright and very false smile. She came and hugged Lizzie like they were long lost friends, "Lizzie! It has been so long!"

"Yes, it has Caroline. So nice of you to come." Lizzie had tried to make nice for Jane's sake.

"Of course! I would have never missed the opportunity."

A longer conversation was thankfully avoided by Bing suggesting that Caroline go ahead and leave with Gigi while he would drop Lizzie and Jane at Lizzie's place. In Bing's car, Jane told her that he and Caroline were staying with Darcy and Gigi but Jane wanted to stay with Lizzie. "I'm here to spend time with my darling sister, after all", she had spoken sweetly when Lizzie had said she didn't mind if she wanted to stay with Bing instead. "I'm willing to make the sacrifice", Bing had added dramatically. Watching the two of them together always made Lizzie feel happy in a way that almost felt like an ache. She had never taken the time to analyse the feeling. Bing had carried Jane's bag up to the apartment and had left with a promise to come pick them up later in the night. They were going out for drinks at some place Gigi had selected, Jane informed her.

When Lizzie was done showing Jane around the small apartment which was probably not much compared to the Darcy apartment, the two sat down to catch up. Lizzie tried to keep the focus of the conversation mostly on Jane because she wanted to avoid Jane asking too many questions about how she was doing. She wasn't yet ready to talk about things related to a certain someone and how she could be honest with Jane about her life in the past weeks without talking about him she could not imagine. She could also conclude from this visit that Bing and Darcy had made up. Her guess was Darcy had apologized to Bing. Jane didn't mention anything about the past falling out between the two friends and Lizzie did not ask.

Eventually Bing was there to pick them up and when they arrived at the club or bar or whatever you would call that place, Gigi, Darcy and Caroline were already there. The place was dimly lit, there was dance floor on one side, next to a giant bar. As everyone settled around a table, Gigi enthusiastically asked Lizzie, "So how was the surprise?"

"Oh it was absolutely the best!" she replied. She looked over at Darcy and passed him a conspiratorial grin. He returned it immediately, with a sparkle in his eyes. Fitz and his partner, Brandon arrived and after a round of introductions and a few rounds of drinks, Gigi dragged Jane and Lizzie to the dance floor. 

Lizzie was happy. The night felt perfect except Darcy had been sitting on the opposite side of the table, she hadn't really been able to talk to him. But unsurprisingly at this point, their eyes had kept turning to each other frequently, sometimes they had exchanged smiles... Probably no one around them would have noticed this quiet communication between the two, but to her there was nothing insignificant about these small interactions.

From the dance floor, Fitz took them to the bar for some kind of flaming shots. The night felt electric. She was back dancing again with Jane or Gigi or Fitz. She hadn't seen Darcy since she had left the table, she wasn't sure how long ago that had been. 

_Well, dancing is probably not his thing_ , she thought recalling the Gibson wedding. "I am going to go sit down for a while", she told Jane and started walking back to their table. She wondered if she would find Darcy sitting alone. Maybe she would finally be able to talk to him for the first time that day. 

As she neared the table, she saw that Darcy was indeed sitting there but he wasn't alone. Caroline was sitting next him. Laughing and speaking into his ear, looking like some kind of Goddess incarnated into the 21st century. Darcy was staring blankly at the drink in his hand. Lizzie thought back to the times she had seen the two hanging out together. It was obvious that Caroline had a thing for Darcy. It had also seemed clear that Darcy wasn't really interested. Regardless, she had always considered the two to be friends. But now, maybe because she knew him better, she saw not two friends but a man in desperate need of a rescue.

She walked up to him and without looking at Caroline, said "Hey, Da- William, you owe me a dance."

His eyes widened a little bit at her use of his first name for the first time but he took the hand she was offering without pause and let her drag him to the dance floor. Drinking always made Lizzie want to dance. She began swaying to the music as soon as she reached the dance floor. She turned around and Darcy was just standing there, staring at her. She smiled... "Do you object to dancing this much?"

He shook his head with half a smile and began moving to the beat as well. His moves weren't bad, Lizzie was a bit surprised to see. She stepped a little closer to be able to talk easier over the loud music. "Am I your knight in shining armor?" she asked.

He laughed out loud when he finally caught her meaning. Lizzie was growing to love that sound. "If you're implying I was imprisoned by an evil witch, I'm obliged to deny." 

_Poor Caroline..._ Lizzie thought, _she never had a chance._

The music changed... into something slower, mellower... Darcy hesitated. He nodded back towards the table, "Maybe we should..."

"No, let's stay a while longer." The alcohol had made her bold enough to say what she actually wanted to say.

He agreed silently and placed his hands on her waist and she placed hers on his shoulders. They were dancing slowly, swaying from side to side... He did not appear to be as relaxed as he had been just a short while ago. Lizzie let out a small giggle involuntarily.

"What's so amusing?" he asked warily.

"We're dancing like we're in middle school..." She looked down once at the distance between them and then back up at him, "... except back then none of my dance partners were so... tall." 

She was only trying to tease him but his expression turned serious. He stopped moving, so did she. She wasn't sure what was happening behind those blue eyes that were boring into her.

With a sudden movement, he pulled her close till her body crashed against his. His arms wrapped around her waist and slowly he bent his head till his lips were lightly brushing against her ear. "Is this more age appropriate?" he spoke just loud enough for her to hear.

She wanted to come up with a witty reply but her brain had stopped functioning for the moment. One of his hands started slowly moving up her spine. He paused at the edge of the low cut back of her dress. The anticipation of his fingers on her skin was unbearable... she had imagined their touch too many times since that day at Collins and Collins.

When his fingers finally met her skin, a long held breath escaped her... She arched her back into his touch. Their eyes met. She realized she was holding on to fistfuls of his shirt. She tried to relax her grip but couldn't. She was frozen in his arms... in his gaze. His hand reached the back of her neck... and before she knew it, they were kissing. The kind of kissing that may be age appropriate but certainly wasn't appropriate for the middle of a crowded dance floor. But did she care? Not really. Apprently, neither did he.

His hand was in her hair now... Her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. She was standing on her tiptoes trying to reach him better... he really was too tall. As if sensing her thoughts, his arms wrapped around her tightly and he lifted her a few inches off the ground. She tried wrapping her legs around his waist before realising that she wasn't wearing a dress that would allow that. She groaned in frustration... 

And then they both froze. The fact was they were indeed in the middle of a crowded dance floor, not something they could completely ignore even if they wanted to. He broke the kiss, and slowly lowered her down. He rested his forehead against hers, they were both breathing hard... She could feel their breaths mingling together in the short distance separating their lips. The music had changed to something more upbeat again, she hadn't noticed when that had happened.

He moved away forcing her to open her eyes... His eyes were boring into her again... Those eyes were so... and his lips... She was still trying to process what had just happened when he took one of her hands in his and slowly raised it to place a kiss on her knuckles. If she hadn't already been so flushed from their kisses earlier, the gesture would have made her blush. It made her smile instead... A slow, almost bashful smile spread across his face in return. He really shouldn't be allowed to look so sexy and so adorable at the same time. 

The spell was broken when he let go of her hand with an apologetic look in his eyes to reach for his phone. "It's Gigi", he said after looking at the screen.

"We should probably go find the others", she said reluctantly.

"Yeah..." he agreed. He bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and then took her hand and started leading them out of the dance floor. As they stepped out of the crowd, they looked at each other and knew what they had to do. They silently stepped away from each other, letting their hands fall at their sides. Her fingers still tingled from his touch when they reached the table to find Jane and Gigi sitting there.

"Oh... There you are! We couldn't find either of you." Gigi exclaimed.

"Caroline wasn't feeling well, Bing took her home", Jane added. There was a silent question in her eyes as she looked between the two of them. _Tomorrow, I'll have to tell Jane everything..._ Lizzie thought.

"Fitz and Brandon?" Darcy was asking Gigi.

"They met some people they knew", Gigi replied. "Should we leave as well? We will drop you both on our way," she added to Jane and Lizzie. Bing and Gigi had been their designated drivers.

Darcy looked at Lizzie fleetingly and said "Yeah, sure."

Lizzie echoed an agreement and the four of them made their way out. It seemed Gigi and Jane had really hit it off, they continued whatever conversation they had been having at the table as they got into the car and all through the drive. Lizzie couldn't tell you one word of what they said, she was too busy admiring half the profile of Darcy she could see from the back seat.

As Gigi slowed down in front of their building, goodbyes were exchanged. There was a wistfulness in the way Darcy waved at her from the passenger window as they drove off, making her wonder how the night would have ended if they didn't have their sisters with them... 

Once they were up in the apartment, Jane was too exhausted to do much except get changed and crash on the sofa bed. Lizzie on the other hand was feeling too restless to sleep. Just as she was contemplating if he would still be awake or not, her phone on the night stand lit up. She grabbed it hurriedly... a text from William Darcy.

"Hi"

She smiled at the tiny message. "Hi", she replied back.

"I know you must have plans with Jane tomorrow, but they are leaving on Sunday afternoon. Could I see you after that?"

Of course he used proper spelling and full punctuation even in text. "Definitely", she sent the reply. And then feeling like a one word reply did not sum up everything she was feeling, she added the very generic but very true words, "I had a great time tonight."

"I did too." The simple and equally generic reply made her smile at the screen foolishly. She stared at the small text conversation for a while until a new text popped up.

"Good night, Elizabeth."

"Good night, William." She sent the reply and put her phone back on the night stand, smiling into her pillow. There was a lot she needed to talk to him about, questions that had bothered her since that day... _"I haven't been able to stop thinking about you for months"_ , he had said. How had that happened? When had he started liking her? Not at the Gibson wedding surely... When she was living in Netherfield perhaps? It still seemed so unlikely... 

But now... Well, now... She would have plenty of time to get to all that... She drifted off to sleep imagining how the night on Sunday would end when they would not have their sister with them. This certainly was a weekend worth looking forward to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally complete! The scene on the dance floor was a major inspiration for this story. I hope you enjoyed reading it, leave a comment if you did!


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